Christmas spirit alive and well …

Frontiersman editorial board

A thousand children will be getting something for Christmas this year when they otherwise would not, thanks to the Special Santa program.

A family that lost everything they owned in a trailer fire a week before Christmas is getting help from the community and the Frontiersman's Hope's Helping Hands program.

Valley residents who don't have the means to purchase Christmas dinner are getting boxes of food from local organizations.

The spirit of giving is alive and well, and it is one reason we are proud to call the Mat-Su Valley home.

Here at the Frontiersman, our publisher's office has overflowed with donations from the community -- toys, dishes, food … even a woodstove has been given to Hope's Helping Hands.

But the generosity only grew as Christmas Day neared. Last week, a Valley resident called the Frontiersman to say he wanted to donate money to a good cause. By Friday morning, an impressive monetary gift was helping a family who lost their home to fire find a new place to live.

The Good Samaritan wanted to do even more, however, and donated an additional sum that will be used to provide the family with a shopping trip at a local retailer.

The benefactor said he had been watching our program since its inception last year, and wanted to donate to a local cause that would benefit people right here in the Valley.

The goodwill has proven to be contagious. When one person donated a woodstove for a family without a heat source in their home, others came forward with money for a stovepipe and the expertise to install it.

The events of Sept. 11, as tragic as they were, brought out the best in people. Americans from coast to coast opened their hearts and their checkbooks to help others in need.

When December rolled around and local charities began to ask for donations, it would have been easy to say we had already given our share and with the expenses of the holidays simply couldn't afford to give more. But, instead, the response from Valley residents has been tremendous.

Programs such as Hope's Helping Hand, the local food banks, Toys for Tots and Special Santas are a small sampling of the many local organizations that ensure our neighbors who are in need receive help this holiday season. Whether it be a ham for Christmas dinner or a box of presents for a young child, local organizations are making a difference in the lives of many this year.

The Salvation Army's motto is "Need Knows No Season" and it is very appropriate. Nobody should go hungry in today's world, yet it happens every day. It is wonderful that we can all rally together to help those who need it during the Christmas season, but we hope the momentum will carry us into 2002 so we can continue to make a difference throughout the year.

We wish you all a safe and merry Christmas.